The ongoing federal investigation remains somewhat vague, even a month after officials in Nashville provided various documents to two legislative committees looking into the mayor’s handling of recent immigration controversies.

Requests for updates from Republican representatives on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, including Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, have been largely ignored or denied.

A spokesperson for the Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee remarked that they were not informed about the active investigation. He mentioned, “The Democrats aren’t joining forces with Republicans on this.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Freddie O’Connell hasn’t altered his policy that reflects initial Republican criticism, which demands quick reporting of any interactions between city staff and immigration officers.

Spokesperson Alex Apple stated, “The department continues to report information promptly according to the executive order.”

Nashville has submitted about 100 documents as part of the inquiry, with roughly half being short narrative summaries from immigration agencies and ICE, as well as city contacts derived from publicly accessible U.S. homeland security records.

Other materials include emails detailing the mayor’s protocols for documenting these interactions. Apple mentioned that the last disclosure of information followed seven more encounters between city officials and federal immigration agencies. These incidents comprised four in late June and three from the previous week, but they haven’t been made public yet while officials redact personal identifiers.

A quick scrutiny of the Nashville raid mayor’s response

Questions surrounding Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell intensified after the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE collaborated for two days in May to conduct immigration operations in South Nashville, particularly in areas with a significant immigrant presence.

This operation caught city leaders off-guard, leading to immediate inquiries from local advocates and council members about possible involvement from Nashville Police or other officials.

The mayor’s office did not assist in the federal government’s efforts, which aimed to detain 196 immigrant residents, described by officials as “target enforcement activities.” Out of those detained, 96 had prior convictions, while 31 had been deported before re-entering the United States.

In reaction to the incident, O’Connell updated a longstanding Executive Order that his predecessor had established, which requires emergency and non-emergency city officials to report their interactions with federal immigration authorities. Now, emergency personnel need to report contacts within 24 hours instead of three days.

Additionally, O’Connell has initiated a “Belonging Fund,” created in conjunction with the Middle Tennessee Community Foundation, to offer emergency support to immigrants, particularly those affected by the detention of family members by ICE.

“What’s evident today is that those lacking shared community values can inflict considerable damage,” O’Connell stated in regard to the actions taken against immigrants.

His position elicited immediate backlash. Ogles announced dual investigations by the Congressional Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees to evaluate whether O’Connell’s actions hindered immigrant staff’s work.

In a counter-response, White House official Tom Homan asserted that O’Connell’s actions wouldn’t deter their efforts, promising to increase immigration raids in Nashville.

“It seems clear that Mayor O’Connell was engaged in some form of obstruction, allowing illegal activities to flourish in a major city,” Tricia McLaughlin remarked in a media interview, representing the Department of Homeland Security.

Former Trump administration officials accused O’Connell of being a “doxing” agent for making names public from a list of interactions with ICE.

O’Connell countered, calling the public disclosure of government employees’ names careless, indicating that his office had compiled them as a response.

Furthermore, a letter from a mayor’s office attorney pointed out that O’Connell’s directives regarding ICE would not interfere with federal law enforcement activities. The letter clarified, “We do not prevent Metro employees from communicating with federal immigration officials, and the only requirement is that these communications be reported.”